


Escape

by kl125



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Boys In Love, Coming Out, Dean's lost and Seth is there to listen, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post RAW 10/8/18
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2019-08-02 17:45:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16309769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kl125/pseuds/kl125
Summary: Seth will always find Dean the same way Dean will always find Seth.  That is the one thing they can both always count on.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay Marie, I ran with another one of your ideas! Hope you enjoy it :)

"Hey," Seth nudged Dean's shoulder as he slid onto the stool next to him at the seedy bar he'd finally found him in.  After Dean had walked out on him and Roman at the arena, Roman had told him to give Dean some time to cool off, but Seth knew that was the last thing his boyfriend needed.

"Took you long enough!" Dean smirked at him, raising his glass to the bartender and pointing at Seth. 

Seth stayed silent until his beer was placed in front of him and then he turned to Dean and admonished him, "I thought we agreed you weren't going to wander off like that anymore!  I know you need your alone time, but I just want to know that you're alive out there, alright?"

Dean shrugged, "Sorry, I wasn't exactly thinking clearly."

Seth nodded, "I know, I saw what you said before you left.  I hate that you sounded so defeated.  You know that it could have been any of us who lost the match that way.  Hell, before you came back I was on a nice losing streak myself!"

Dean shrugged again, "I just don't feel like myself since I came back and I don't know how to get there."

Playing with the label on his bottle, Seth let his words soak in before responding, eyes averted, "If you need to challenge one of us for a belt, you know you can do that and there will be no hard feelings."

"That's not what this is about!" Dean's voice rose, making those around them turn to stare.  Realizing this, he let his voice drop as he continued, "I'm just tired.  Tired of fighting everyone and everything.  I've fought for everything my entire life: for my self respect and for love and everything in between and I finally got those things, but still I'm struggling to survive.  I spent months trying to get back here, to get back to you, but now I'm here and it still doesn't feel right.  I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me!" his voice rose again.

Seth's hand lay gently against his arm, instantly calming him, "You almost died D, that's not something you just get over easily.  You came back and nothing's really changed, but you have and you're just trying to figure it all out.  Just remember that while you're doing that, Roman and I are right here anytime you need us."

Dean's eyes closed as he mumbled, "I know that."  They flew back open as Seth leaned into him, whispering in his ear, "Alright, but for the record, I already know the answer to your question: you belong with me."

Seth's chest felt lighter as he drew a smile to Dean's face, grinning as he looked over at him, "You think a awful lot of yourself babe!"

Seth just laughed, "Damn straight I do, but are you denying it?"

Dean just rolled his eyes at him, "Nah, we both know I belong with you the same way you belong with me: the one thing that never changes."

Still laughing, Seth set his empty bottle down and rose to his feet, pulling out his wallet and dropping some cash onto the bar before reaching out and pulling Dean to his feet, "Come on you lunatic, let's go get some sleep!"

Surprisingly, he met no resistance as Dean followed along calmly.  After settling into his car, Seth took a minute to just look over at him, happy to see that his eyes were clear of the pain and doubt that he'd seen in them earlier.  Satisfied, he reached over and took his hand, giving it a squeeze as he took off back to the hotel.

The drive back was silent so Seth jumped a bit when, after pulling into a spot, Dean's voice rang out next to him, "I don't want to hide us anymore."

Seth turned towards him, mouth open in disbelief, "Huh?" he asked dumbly.

"I'm tired of pretending all the time.  It's great that Ro, our closest friends and our family know, but I'm tired of having to pretend you're just my good buddy backstage and out in public.  I mean you're right, I could be dead right now and I don't want to waste anytime I may or may not have faking it," Dean pronounced.

Seth's eyes widened as he spoke, "Wow, I, uh, wasn't expecting that!"

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Dean asked, trying to get a read on him.

Still holding on to his hand, Seth gave it another squeeze, "It's all good, just surprising.  You've never said anything before."

Dean shrugged, "It never really bothered me before. I told you things are weird right now."

Seth shook his head with a laugh, "Let's do it then, let's come out."

"Just like that?" it was Dean's turn to stare back at him with wide eyes.

Seth nodded, "Why not?  It's our life, nobody else's."

"And if the powers that be decide that we're not worth the scrutiny?" he had to ask.

"Then we find somewhere else to work.  I could support us for a bit with my school if I needed to," Seth shared, matter-of-factly.

Dean threw his head back with a laugh as he leaned over, claiming a kiss, which Seth enthusiastically returned.  Drawing back, Dean shared, "Thank you for finding me tonight."

Lacing their fingers together, Seth gave another squeeze, "Always!"

 


	2. Chapter 2

Dean shoved open the door to Vince McMahon's office, not bothering to knock first as Seth shook his head at him in disbelief.  He knew that he should have done this alone, but Dean was adamant about presenting a united front.

Sliding inside, where a number of executives, as well as Stephanie, Shane and Hunter were gathered around going over recent numbers for their shows and network, Dean didn't bother beating around the bush as he announced, "Hey Old Man, we just wanted to let you know that Seth and I have made a decision that will impact things around here."

Sighing, Vince took off his glasses that he'd been using to squint at the numbers in front of him.  As he squeezed the bridge of his nose, he reluctantly shared, "Good to see you back as well Dean.  To what do we owe this honor of a visit?"

Laying a hand on Dean's shoulder, Seth stepped forward, "Sorry to interrupt sir, is there a time we could meet tonight and discuss some things with you?"

"Forget that," Dean talked over top of him.  "We're here now so let's just get this over with!  Vinnie, Seth and I have been in a relationship for years.  We were screwing in FCW and when we came up to WWE and we were even engaging in a little hate sex when Hunter sunk his claws into him.  After I forgave the little shit, we stepped back into a committed relationship and we're tired of hiding.  We're going to come out and we thought you might want to share some input on how we go about it."

Seth groaned as he dropped his own head into his hands.  Where was Roman when he really needed him?

"Is this some kind of a joke?" a visibly upset Vince roared.

Walking over and perching at the end of the desk, Dean reached over and grabbed a donut from the tray set up there, "No joke boss: this is happening one way or another, but if you have a idea on how you want it to go down, you need to share with the class," Dean pronounced.

Seth shrugged as Hunter threw him a glare, "What do you want me to do?  You know I can't control him!" he whined.

Vince turned his attention to Seth, "You two are really determined to do this?" he roughly asked.

Seth nodded, standing up straighter as he proudly announced, "We love each other and we're tired of hiding.  There was a strong chance that Dean might not be here right now and we're done wasting time."

Giving another sigh, Vince nodded warily, "If this is going to happen, it's going to happen in the ring.  We're going to maximize the hell out of the publicity opportunities.  I'm going to book interviews for you guys at every outlet willing to talk to you.  And we're going to all need to get on the same page here: this started back in the day, but once Seth betrayed you, it was over.  The same way he slowly rebuilt your friendship and trust, you guys also moved back into this relationship," he said, gesturing towards them.  "Dean almost dying is what led to a confession of the true feelings between you and you are unable to hold back from sharing them with the world."

Sharing a glance with Seth, Dean turned back to his boss, "Works for us Old Man.  So next week is good right?' Dean stood up, already making his way back to the door, dragging a reluctant Seth behind him.

As they made their way out, they could hear Vince's outraged voice trying to stop them, but there was no stopping Dean at that point.

Out in the hall, Dean threw Seth a grin, pulling him into his arms for a quick kiss as he declared, "I think that went pretty well!"

Seth just rolled his eyes at him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter for you! Hope you enjoy Marie :)

Roman jumped as he was suddenly assaulted from behind, pushed up against the locker room door that he'd been changing in front of.

The second he hit, he was turning around, adjusting to a defensive stance until he realized that it was just his idiot best friend acting like a asshole once again, "D, really?!"

Dean just grinned stupidly back at him, "Hey Ro, just saying hi."

Roman rolled his eyes, "And of course you couldn't do it like a normal person."

Dean just shrugged, "Where's the fun in that?"

Roman watched as Dean threw himself down onto the floor, sitting up against the lockers as he waited for Roman to finish getting dressed. 

He could see him fidgeting impatiently and knew that something was up. Dean only acted like this when he was agitated or excited about something.

Looking around, Roman took in the fact that they were relatively alone.  Sliding down next to him, he demanded, "Spill!  What have you done and how do I need to help you fix it?"

Dean looked back at him with wide eyes, "Why would you think I did something?"

Roman just stared at him in disbelief, "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Dean shrugged, "Maybe you've had to bail me out a time or two..."

"A time or two?"

"Fine!" Dean threw his hands up.  "You're always bailing me out, alright.  Isn't that what best friends are for?"

Roman glared at him, "Just tell me!"

Dean grinned widely at him, "What's your stance on being a best man?"

Roman blinked at him, "Huh?"

"Are you for or against best man status?  I mean I know you're all for wedded bliss and I did do you the honor of being yours, so I kind of figure you owe me..." Dean was babbling on, making Roman's head spin. 

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, reaching over to slam his hand over Dean's mouth, "Dean, what the hell are you talking about?" he hissed, trying to keep his voice even.

Throwing his arm over his shoulders, Dean proudly proclaimed, "I'm getting hitched!  Well, sort of, I mean I need to ask Seth first, but that's really a formality, right?  I just figured I'd get the whole best man thing taken care of and out of the way."

Roman stared at him in surprise, "You want to get married?  Isn't that going to make the whole secret relationship thing a bit difficult?"

Dean shot him another shit-eating grin, "Oh, I've already got that covered.  In a couple of hours the whole world will know about us and then I can pop the question.  Do you think it would be tacky to ask in the ring?  I mean, Seth's never been the whole wining and dining, flowers and chocolates kind of guy."

It was that moment that Seth strolled into the locker room, taking one look at his friend and boyfriend on the floor and reading the situation both correctly and incorrectly.

Striding up to them, he took a seat on the bench in front of them as he asked, "I take it Dean told you about tonight?  Sorry we didn't let you in on it a little sooner, but D wanted to tell you face to face so he could see your reaction.  Personally, I think he just gets off on keeping you on your toes."

Before Roman could respond, Dean was cutting in, "Actually, I just told him we were coming out tonight.  I haven't really explained any of it yet."

"Oh," Seth nodded.  "That explains the confused face then.  Why don't you let me sum things up for him babe?  I'm sure I can do that a lot quicker and more succinct than you were planning to.  I mean, we don't really have all that much time here."

Dean glared at him, but leaned his head back against the lockers as he closed his eyes, moving to some beat only he could hear as he gestured for him to get on with it.

Rolling his eyes, Seth explained, "When Dean walked out on us last week, I tracked him down at the bar.  I know we've both been really worried about him and that we both thought that maybe he was just feeling misused and unimportant so I offered to let him fight me for the belt.  Imagine my surprise when he told me what has really been eating at him."

"What's that?" Roman asked, eyebrows raised.

"Me and Seth," Dean mumbled, not opening his eyes.  "Fighting for my life in that hospital just made me realize how much time we're wasting keeping separate lives and keeping us hidden."

"He wanted to come out,' Seth picked back up.  "I was surprised, but not opposed to the idea.  When he said the words, I realized that I've been feeling the same way.  I'm just sick of all of the sneaking around and wasted energy."

"So you're doing it tonight?" Roman's eyes swiveled between the two of them.

"Yep!" Dean answered, opening his eyes to wink at him.  "Vinnie wants us to reveal it in the ring."

"Vince, you guys already talked to him?" Roman's bewilderment made Dean chuckle as he shot a punch at his shoulder, "That's right Big Dog, he's got us playing around with the time line a bit, but it all works out to the same thing: Seth and I are screwing on every available surface, but only because we're in love and intend to stay that way!"

Roman shuddered at Dean's words as he turned back to Seth, "Please tell me that you're handling the talking in the ring!"

Seth winced, "Vince wants us both to have our say.  I tried to warn him that letting him anywhere near a mic in this situation was a horrible idea, but right now all he can see is the ratings this can draw.  He's booking us on all the daytime and nighttime shows over the next week," Seth glared at Dean as his face lit up at all of the havoc he could cause.  "You'd think that after your little display in his office the other day that he'd know better!"

Roman blinked at him, "Fuck, what did he do?"

"Imagine that little speech he just gave us only more explicit and much louder.  He barged into Vince's meeting and just announced that we've been "fucking" since the indies and engaging in "hate sex" while I was under the Authority's thumb.  Then he basically told him whether he liked it or not we were going public so if he had something to say about it to get it out now before we came up with our plan to reveal it," Seth shot another glare at his boyfriend as Roman's head dropped back into his hands.

"Fuck, this is going to be a disaster of epic proportions!" he groaned.

Seth nodded, "You can see why I'm so glad you're here!  I was hoping maybe you'd hit the ring with us and help me try to curb some of his wilder impulses?"

Dean jumped to his feet, "Hey, I'm right here!"

Both sets of eyes turned to him as they stared him down before turning back to each other and acting like he hadn't even spoken.

"So, as I was saying, you'll have my back out there, right?" Seth asked.

Roman held out his fist, bumping his as he stated, "Always, but I hate to break it to you, not even I can stop this from being a train wreck!"

Seth sighed resignedly, "Oh I know, but at least I can hope."

Roman laughed, "Yeah, well if nothing else I get a ringside seat for the circus!"

Now it was Seth's turn to punch his other shoulder, "Thanks a lot!" he whined as he stood up next to Dean, excusing himself to run to the bathroom.

The second he was out of sight, Dean was turning back to Roman, "So, should I do it out there or wait until we're in private?"

Grinning, Roman decided to have a little fun himself as he thought about how much Seth hated surprises, "Oh no, you should definitely do it in the ring!"

As Dean's eyes lit up, he sat down on the bench and began to babble about what he was going to say. 

Sitting next to him, Roman listened in silence as he thought about all of the chaos these two had put him through over the years. 

Yes, maybe it was a little mean of him to derive some joy out of teasing them, but damn if he didn't want to see Dean stumble his way through what was sure to be the world's worst proposal and watch Seth squirm as the whole thing went off the rails.

At the end of the day, he knew how much love there was between the two and he knew that it would all work out in the end, but until then he was just going to enjoy the show.


	4. Chapter 4

As The Shield's music hit, the trio shared a significant look from their position high above the crowd.  Nothing was ever going to be the same after this, but although they all felt a hint of nervousness, they all felt in their hearts that this was for the best. 

Dean wanted to show the world that in spite of everything he'd gone through in his life, he'd still managed to gain everything he'd ever wanted.  He had wrestling and he had the love of his life and he wanted to revel in all of it out in the open.  He was done hiding such a huge part of himself away.  Fuck anyone who had anything to say about it!

Seth wanted to keep that content look on his lover's face.  Dean was and always had been everything to him, even when he'd tried his best to run away from his feelings.  He'd never imagined they could be here now, never bother to hope that they could be open about who and what they were to one another, but here they were and Seth couldn't be any happier. 

Sharing a grin with Dean, he reached out to squeeze his hand as they began to move to the entrance way to make their way down through the crowd.

Roman had to hide his own grin as he saw the emotion swirling in his friend's eyes.  He'd always been their biggest supporter, even when Seth had done the unthinkable, he'd always believed that there was more to the story and he'd encouraged Dean to push to get the answers they'd both needed.

Now here they were getting ready to expose themselves to the world, ready to take the next step in the journey they'd been traveling together for so long and Roman couldn't be any prouder of them.

Taking a deep breath, he followed along as they headed down to the ring, taking his place at their side as the crowd cheered, not sure what they were doing out there, but always happy to see them together.

...

"You're probably wondering what we're doing out here," Dean calmed the crowd down.  "I know there's been a lot of speculation about me since I came back.  Some think I'm having a breakdown and some think I'm getting ready to stab a knife in my friend's back, but I'm here to let you know you couldn't be further from the truth!"

Laying a hand on his shoulder, Roman took over, "Our brother's been struggling with a lot of stuff since his injury and unfortunately Seth and I haven't exactly been there for him, too caught up in the never ending line of challengers trying to tear down what we've built and are building."

Nodding, Seth moved to stand on Dean's other side as he held up his own mic, "We misread the situation and thought Dean's frustrations were at not having the opportunities that Roman and I have been getting lately, but we were wrong, very wrong and D, we're sorry!" he turned to face his boyfriend head on, who was staring at him in surprise, but nodded his head in acceptance of the unexpected apology.

Taking back over, Dean began to speak from his heart, "Wrestling changed my life.  It's the only thing I've ever truly been good at and the only reason I'm still alive.  I'd have fallen into the dark hole that I grew up in a long time ago if Les hadn't given me a chance and helped me get off the streets and into the ring.  I put everything I had into this business and having to take such a long step back from it was hard.  I've never been out with a injury like that, never had my body turn on me like that and I admit it screwed with my head a bit.  Then when I almost died from the infection, it made me take a hard look at my life and what I wanted from it," looking over at Seth, he reached out for his hand, gripping onto it tightly as he continued on.  "See, of all the things that wrestling has given me over the years, there's one thing that stands out above the rest, something that I've kept hidden for a number of reasons that suddenly don't seem to matter in the grand scheme of things.  I might not be here right now and I don't want to waste anymore time pretending I'm something I'm not."

There was a confused muttering among the crowd as they tried to follow what was happening in the ring.  Both Roman and Seth moved to say something, but Dean waved them off.

"I've always believed that you love who you love and I've tried to roll with that idea in my own life.  I've never succumbed to labeling in any aspect of my life and when it comes to dating and sex, I've always been open to every possibility, but when you grew up the way I did and then engage in the life style that I have, it's hard to make any type of real or lasting connection with anyone.  A lot of women and men have come and gone from my life and to be frank, it never really mattered to me," Dean paused, smirking as the crowd noise increased as they realized what Dean had just revealed about himself.  "Then one day this asshole over here walked into my life and turned it upside down.  We had a instant connection both in and out of the ring and no matter what, that connection has always been there."

Sharing a smirk of his own, Seth shared, "Soulmates in every way."

"Always,"  Dean agreed before turning back to the crowd.  "You see, we were attracted to one another instantly and we had no problem in that department, it was everything else that came with it that we screwed up.  Instead of admitting to what we were feeling for one another, we chose to ignore it.  We fucked our way up and down every road in this country and the next, but we couldn't let ourselves believe it was anything more than that."

Mentally, Roman facepalmed as he imagined Vince blowing his top in the back as Dean refused to edit his words.

Taking over once again, Seth shared, "That's when I decided to run away from what I was feeling.  I let myself be seduced into talk of being number one, let the idea of being champion blind me to what was really important.  I threw a big huge boulder in between not only my relationship with Dean, but my friendship with Roman."

Nodding, Dean stated, "You gave it all up to be The Authority's scumbag."

Seth shrugged, "I knew right away I'd made a mistake, but it was hard to come back from it.  I've never thanked you, either of you for giving me the chance to fix things.  I know I pushed myself on you D, but I'm not sorry, not if it got us here."

Dean winked at him, "Agreed," he said, leaning forward to pull Seth in for a kiss, which gained more gasps and muttering from the crowd.  Pulling back, Dean explained, "Even when I wanted to hate you I couldn't and when you came back begging to be let back in, I tried really hard to resist you, but we saw how long that lasted!"

Stepping away from him, Dean walked over to the ropes, leaning on them as he addressed the crowd directly, "Scumbag or not, he was mine and I was his.  Regardless of whether we were boinking or not, I loved him.  We're in love with one another and almost dying made me see our relationship for the amazing thing that it is.  I'm done hiding."

"We're done hiding," Seth moved to stand next to him, bumping his hip gently with his own as Roman came up behind them and threw his arms over their shoulders in support.

Raising a eyebrow at Dean, Roman had to stifle a laugh as Dean suddenly turned around, dropping to his knees in front of a shocked Seth.

Reaching up, he grabbed onto Seth's hand as he began to spew out the Dean-style proposal Roman had been looking forward to.  Dean was so focused on Seth, he didn't notice that his friend had pulled out his phone and was recording it for his own amusement.

"Babe, we've been doing this relationship thing for awhile and it seems to be going pretty well, right?  I mean I've never seen myself as the settling down type, but you know, we work.  I think we should keep doing this, only with more paperwork.  What do you say?" Dean looked up at Seth imploringly, who continued to look back with confusion.

"What are you saying?" he asked, making Roman chuckle.

Dean rolled his eyes at both of them as he pulled out the ring and forcibly shoved it onto Seth's finger, "We're getting married and Ro and Tony are going to be our best men," he explained impatiently.

Seth's mouth opened and closed as he tried to comprehend what was going on in front of him, "Marriage?"

Standing up, Dean shouted, "Yes, you, me and the aisle.  I'm not wearing the white dress though!"

Tilting his head at him, Seth suddenly said the one word that Dean never expected, "No!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I left it on a cliffhanger for so long! New day job hours, family issues and a illness hasn't left a whole lot of free time, but I'm back and plan to have this one finished very soon. 
> 
> Thanks again for all the support Marie, hope you enjoy this even though it's a bit short. There's a couple more chapters of this one left, which will both be much longer, promise!

"No?!" Dean's voice broke as he turned away from Seth, moving to lean against the ropes for support as his brain tried to comprehend what was happening.  Never had he imagined Seth turning him down!

A shocked Roman also found himself leaning back, forgetting that he still had his phone recording as he tried to figure out whether to move to comfort Dean or try to knock some sense into Seth.

Luckily, Seth saved them both from their thoughts as he moved towards Dean, reaching out to shove down on his shoulders as he pointed at the floor, "I'm not saying yes to that half-assed proposal!  Now get down there and do this right!"

Eyes widening, Dean took a deep breath of relief before doing as his boyfriend asked.  Looking up he found the words coming without having to even think about it, "You're my anchor babe.  It doesn't matter how many times we stumble or drift off our path, we always find one another again, but I'm done with that.  I don't ever want to spend another day without you by my side.  I'm done with regrets and looking backwards, I want to look forward to our future, together, if you'll have me that is.  So Seth "scumbag" Rollins, will you do me the honor of agreeing to be my husband?"

Beaming down at him, Seth fought back tears as he shared, "Of course I will you asshole!"

Unable to resist, Dean rose to his feet, bowing at him, "I'm so glad my words have met with your approval, now will you fucking put the ring on already?"

Guffawing behind them, Roman continued to record the crazy scene as Seth slapped Dean upside the head before putting his hand out so Dean could slide his ring on.

Jumping into Dean's arms, Seth devoured his lips as the crowd began to clap around them.  As Dean placed him back on his feet, Seth whirled around to glare at their friend.

"You knew about this didn't you?" he accused, frowning as Roman shrugged.  "You knew and you still let him come out here with no preparation whatsoever!  I thought I could count on you to save him from himself!"

Smirking at him, Roman quipped, "I figured you guys had it under control.  Far be it from me to mess with young love!"

Giving him the finger, Seth turned back around as Dean's arms enveloped him from behind, cutting off any retaliation on his part.

As the pair stood there in the center of the ring in a tight clench, Roman took a few pics that he immediately sent to his wife.  This had gone even worse than he'd hoped! 

Sharing another kiss, Seth drew back to admonish Dean, "You know Vince is going to kill you right?"

"Us, he's going to kill us!" Dean shared cheerfully, making Seth groan.

"Fuck, we've been engaged ten minutes and I'm already taking the heat for your actions!" he swore. 

Dean grinned as he gestured for Roman to join them, throwing his arms around both of their shoulders as he asked, "Do you think he'll let us hold the wedding in the ring?"

The last scene before RAW went off the air was a close up of the horror on both Seth and Roman's faces.

 


End file.
